Bank of New York Mellon (BK -0.99%) is a global financial services company that oversees almost $55 trillion in assets for its clients. It's also the country's oldest bank, tracing its roots back to Alexander Hamilton, who founded its predecessor in 1784. However, that was over 200 years ago; The real question is who owns the Bank of New York Mellon today?
Today's BNY Mellon was formed in 2007 when the Bank of New York merged with Pittsburgh's Mellon Financial Corporation to create the world's largest custodian bank. Unlike a traditional bank providing commercial and consumer services, like taking deposits and lending money, BNY Mellon provides security services to asset owners, including other banks. Think of it like a bigger bank where smaller banks keep a safety deposit box of sorts.
Let's take a closer look at BNY Mellon, who's on its board of directors, and how to invest money in its stock.
Who owns it?
Who is the owner of Bank of New York Mellon?
Bank of New York Mellon is a publicly traded company owned by its shareholders. Its predecessor, Bank of New York, was the first company to ever go public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1792. It has been a publicly traded company ever since.
Institutional investors own the vast majority of the company's stock these days (87.4% of its outstanding shares as of 2025). Insiders (i.e., the company's officers and board of directors) owned very few of its outstanding shares (0.18%).
Board of Directors
Largest shareholders
Who are the largest shareholders?
Institutional investors are the largest shareholders of BNY Mellon. The bank stock's top five shareholders in 2025 were:
- Vanguard Group: 71 million shares (10.1% of its outstanding shares) valued at $7.3 billion. Vanguard Group is a leading asset manager. The client-owned company had over $10.1 trillion in assets under management (AUM) in 2025. It manages several mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI -0.68%) and Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFIAX -0.63%). Those funds held 22.65 million and 19.9 million shares of BNY Mellon, respectively.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 64 million shares (9.1%) valued at $6.6 billion. BlackRock is a leading asset manager with $11.58 trillion in AUM. It manages mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, and client assets, including the popular iShares ETF platform. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV -0.74%) was a top holder for BNY Mellon stock, with 8.4 million shares.
- Dodge & Cox: 37.62 million shares (5.33%) valued at $3.8 billion. Dodge & Cox is a mutual fund manager with over $400 billion in AUM as of December 2024. Among the funds it manages is the Dodge & Cox Stock Fund (DODGX 0.08%), one of the largest single fund holders of BNY Mellon stock, at 28.1 million shares.
- State Street (NYSE:STT): 33.25 million shares (4.7%) valued at $3.4 billion. State Street is an asset manager that handles several popular ETFs. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY -0.73%) was a leading holder of BNY Mellon shares at 8.6 million. The large custodial bank and investment firm had $5.1 trillion in AUM in 2025.
- Artisan Partners (NYSE:APAM): 15.8 million shares (2.24%) valued at $1.6 billion. The independent investment management firm manages several funds (Artisan Funds and Artisan Global Funds) and separate accounts for its clients. The company had $175 billion in AUM in 2025.
Board of directors
Who is on the board of directors for BNY Mellon?
BNY Mellon has a diverse board of directors who bring a wealth of experience to the company. In early 2024, its board consisted of the following members:
- Linda Z. Cook: Cook has been a board member since December 2016. She's the CEO of Harbour Energy and has been a board member since 2021. She's also a senior advisor to EIG Global Energy Partners, an investment firm focused on the energy sector. Before Joining EIG in 2014, Cook spent 29 years at Shell (SHEL -0.24%). She owned more than 32,673 shares of BNY Mellon as of 2025.
- K. Guru Gowrappan: Gowrappan has been a board member since April 2021. He's currently the president of Viasat (VSAT -4.05%) and previously served as CEO of Verizon (VZ -1.03%) Media Group. He owned 16,829 shares of BNY Mellon as of 2025.
- Rakefet Russak-Aminoach: Russak-Aminoach has been a board member since April 2024. She is a managing partner at Team8, a venture group focused on fintech, enterprise, data, and digital health. She also served as the president and CEO of Bank Leumi until 2019. She owned 3,676 shares of BNY Mellon stock as of 2025.
- Joseph J. Echevarria: Echevarria has been a board member since February 2015 and the independent board chair since 2019. He previously served as the CEO of Deloitte before retiring in 2014. He owned 100,962 shares of BNY Mellon in 2025.
- Ralph Izzo: Izzo has been a board member since August 2020. He previously served as chairman, president, and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG -0.63%). He brings expertise in technology and public policy to the company. Izzo owned 30,743 shares of BNY Mellon in 2025.
- Robin Vince: Vince has been a board member since August 2022. He has been the president and CEO of BNY Mellon since September 2022. Vince joined the company in 2020. Before that, he served in various roles at Goldman Sachs (GS -1.93%). He owned 214,468 shares as of 2025.
- M. Amy Gilliland: Gilliland has been on the board since April 2021. She's currently the president of General Dynamics (GD -0.06%) Information Technology. Gilliland owned 16,829 shares of BNY Mellon in 2025.
- Sandie O'Connor: O'Connor has been on the board since December 2021. She retired as an executive with JPMorgan Chase (JPM -0.68%). She owned 5,193 shares of BNY Mellon in 2025.
- Alfred W. "Al" Zollar: Zollar has been a board member since April 2019. He serves as an executive advisor to the private equity firm Siris Capital Group. He owned 26,382 shares of BNY Mellon in 2025.
- Jeffrey A. Goldstein: Goldstein has been on the board of directors since April 2014. He's a senior advisor at venture capital fund Canapi Ventures. Goldstein previously served as the undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury for domestic finance and as counselor to the Treasury secretary from 2009-2011. He owned 85,083 shares of BNY Mellon in 2025.
- Elizabeth E. Robinson: Robinson has been a board member since October 2016. She served as the global treasurer, partner, and managing director at Goldman Sachs from 2005-2015. Robinson owned 37,374 shares of BNY Mellon in 2025.
How to invest
How to invest in Bank of New York Mellon?
Anyone can invest in the Bank of New Mellon. It trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker BK.
It's easy to learn how to invest in stocks. Here are four steps you should follow to buy shares of the company:
Step one: Open a brokerage account
If you need to open one, check out our list of the best-rated brokers and trading platforms. Make sure you take time to research brokers to find the best one for you.
Step two: Set an investing budget
Determine how much you want to allocate to each stock. The Motley Fool recommends building a diversified portfolio with at least 25 stocks you plan to hold for the next five years. So, if you have $10,000 to invest, you should work toward allocating that money relatively equally across at least 25 stocks over time. However, if you only have $1000 to invest right now, it's best to pick 10 or so stocks and start building from there.
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Step three: Do your research
It's vital to thoroughly research any company before buying shares. Ensure you understand what it does, how it makes money, what sets it apart from competitors, its balance sheet, and its profitability. If you're considering investing in a bank, you should also make sure you know how to invest in bank stocks.
Step four: Place your order
When you're ready to buy shares, open the order page at your broker and place your trade. You'll need to:
- Determine the number of shares you want to buy (or the amount you plan on investing in fractional shares).
- Enter the correct stock ticker (BK for BNY Mellon).
- Decide whether to place a market order or a limit order (the Motley Fool recommends using market orders).
- Double-check your order page and submit your trade to become a BNY Mellon Shareholder.
FAQ
Who owns Bank of New York Mellon FAQ
Who owns Bank of New York Mellon Corp?
Bank of New York Mellon is a publicly traded company owned by its shareholders. Its largest owners in early 2024 were institutional investors. The Vanguard Group, Dodge & Cox, BlackRock, State Street, and Artisan Partners were the top five largest holders.
Is BNY Mellon private or public?
BNY Mellon is a public company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BK and was one of the first companies ever publicly traded.
Can I invest in Bank of New York Mellon?
Anyone can invest in the Bank of New York Mellon. The public company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker BK.
